Millions of Americans, asked about their hobby, would launch into an enthusiastic discussion of photography. Professional photographers have been heard to discuss their work with equal enthusiasm and have even been known to take pictures for fun on occasion— but what do they do for a hobby?

Let’s try another of Popko’s interesting quiz sessions. Below are three photo queries that should make you think. Turn up the darkroom lights, take a last look around, and go to it. Place a check in the box opposite what you think is the correct answer to each question.

COURTROOM camera privileges to working news photographers are being extended bit by bit throughout the nation. The Tulsa, Okla., judiciary is one of the latest to fall in line. Tulsa press photographers recently were granted permission to take pictures while court was in session for the first time since the three present district court judges took office.

THE end of summer and the annual Darkroom Issue are reminders of photography’s perennial qualities. No hobby on earth is less conducive to boredom, none more magically self-renewing. If snapshooting under a perverse summer sun begins to pall as August languidly wanes, there is promise in the September breeze, for the darkroom that seemed so dark and uninviting for many months beckons once again.

20-Minute Color Processing. According to a recent release from Air Materiel Command Headquarters of the USAF at Dayton, Ohio, Ansco recently put the finishing touches on a color processing kit capable of producing finished wet transparencies only 20 minutes after the start of the processing run (instead of 90 minutes later).

NOT long ago I came home after an enjoyable morning spent out along a creek with my camera, hunting pictures. The family asked if I had found any masterpieces, and I admitted that probably I had not. I had found something else, though—something many amateurs seek when they go out to look for pictures.

ONE of the best things about being a camera fan is that you can enjoy photography throughout the entire year. It is a hobby that knows no limitations with regard to time or place, for there are good pictures to be found during every season of the year, indoors or out, in daytime or at night.

The 2nd Annual Inter-Service Photography Contest set a new record for participation by G. L's in the photo-hobby program of the Armed Forces

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BARRACKS BAG AS DUST COVER

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NORMAN C. LIPTON

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SINCE the end of World War II, photography has taken on added significance in the eyes of American servicemen and the U. S. Department of Defense. In addition to a war weapon, it has become one of the most popular leisure-time occupations wherever our men are stationed.

This step-by-step picture guide shows how simple it is to process your own rolls of film. Developing is fun, and requires little equipment

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ROBERT HERTZBERG

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SPARKING roll-film negatives are easy to obtain if you adhere faithfully to the tried and tested routine shown in the accompanying pictures. Thousands of amateurs have discovered additional pleasure in their hobby by doing their own developing, and you, too, will get a thrill out of discovering this fascinating phase of photography.

For better pictures, learn when and why to use printing controls as well as the techniques

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D. Ward Pease

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MANY ARTICLES—even whole books—have been written on the subject of making modifications in photographs, telling much about how to end up with something quite different from the original straight photograph. It all reminds me of a little jingle I read years ago which went about like this:

Townsend Godsey, with the aid of Moe the Mannequin, shows you how to make quality enlargements from your negatives

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ONE of the greatest hurdles for the amateur photographer is knowing how to make good pictures from his negatives. The technique of producing snappy prints should be mastered quickly, however, for once you know how to get the best end results you can devote your full time to the planning and taking of good pictures.

Encountered through a mishap, this phenomenon now aids the author in creating unusual pictorial effects

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Reticulation Do's & Dont's

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GEORGE G. ANDRUS

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IT TOOK a happy accident for me to discover negative reticulation. I rinsed some prize films in hot water by mistake, and then turned on the cold water in an effort to rectify my blunder. That did it! You could practically hear the emulsion crack from all the way across the room!

A new technique—Derivations—places a unique tool for artistic expression in the hands of the color print maker

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Robert L. McIntyre

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A NEW method of making color pictures, unique because it frees the camera artist from the accurate rendering of subject matter associated with normal printing processes, has emerged from Eastman Kodak Company’s laboratories. Pictures made by this technique are color abstractions.

If you enjoy experimenting in search of the ideal developer, this formula will appeal to you

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OTHA C. SPENCER

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THE POSSIBILITY of making better pictures through use of an improved film developer has challenged many an ingenious photographic mind. Shorter development time, increased film speed, finer grain, and better negative quality—these are some of the aims that have lured experimenters on.

Both striking and imaginative pictures can be produced in the darkroom. The illustrations in this feature are products of techniques that are fun to use and require a minimum of time and trouble. When you get set to work in the darkroom, remember that negatives are mere tools and not the end results in photography.

Tired of making orthodox portraits and landscapes? Then try this photo recreation. It’s easy to turn your pictures into drawings

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PLAIN HYPO BATH FORMULA

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FOLLOW THESE SIMPLE STEPS WHEN YOU MAKE PHOTO DRAWINGS

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FOUR VARIATIONS OF BASIC PEN STROKE STYLES

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CLEARING BATH FORMULA

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RAYMOND F. BARBERA

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HERE'S a fascinating project to try as a means of diversion from your regular darkroom work. You’ll get no end of fun from the experience, and at the same time come up with something “different” in the way of pictures. Photo etchings are ideal for posters, stationery, and greeting cards, and for other uses that will suggest themselves.

A free-lance photographer converted a small closet measuring 44 by 47 inches into an efficient professional darkroom

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NETTIE DANIELS

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WE WERE MARRIED—the three of us—my husband Gene, myself, and a camera. After much searching, we were lucky enough to find a small apartment which consisted of a combination living room-kitchen, a bedroom, a bathroom, and one closet. The entire apartment measured 12 feet by 34 feet.

All photographs submitted for this department should have the name and address of the sender printed on the back of each picture. We will return them if sufficient postage is enclosed. Pygmalion, awarded 1st star this month, was made by Ted Walker of Statesville, N. C.

Often a routine assignment suggests an idea for an unusual picture. That's the story behind this month's cover photograph by Peter James Samerjan of Los Angeles. He was posing Sally Simmons for illustrations on a new eye and lip make-up when he began to wonder how she would look in color.

PAGE 62 The outstanding example of multiple printing which introduces this month’s picture section is the work of Harry K. Shigeta, well-known Chicago illustrative photographer. An 11x14 Deardorff camera equipped with a 24-in. Goerz Dagor ƒ/7 lens was used to expose the two sheets of film from which the final print was produced.

Most photographers have “duck boards” made of open slats, in the darkroom sink, and use them as a workbench for processing film and paper. During these operations they use thermometers, print tongs, and similar small articles. Often, some of these tools drop through the slats into the sink, causing annoying delays.

The things which make your own club successful and enjoyable may well work similarly for other groups of camera enthusiasts. Several such groups have written to ask for an exchange of correspondence, and any ideas you can send them will be appreciated heartily.

HOLD up the editing of your summer filming for a while yet! The autumn months approaching us offer you perhaps the ultimate in sheer beauty, and you’ll undoubtedly want to include some footage showing Mother Nature’s collorful fall splendor to round out your story.

Your home movies deserve the best. Make them complete by adding legends that help tell the story. Here’s some advice to get you started

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GEORGE CARLSON

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ASK the advanced movie maker and he’ll tell you that a home movie is not really complete unless it has titles—at least a main or lead title, and an end title. A legend is the finishing touch that makes a movie complete. And you will find that the title is a boon in maintaining continuity in a sequence or tying sequences together when it is next to impossible to do so with the camera.

THIS CHRISTMAS, don’t be left out in the cold with your photographic greeting cards. It is never too early to prepare material for interesting and unusual holiday greetings. Start taking pictures now for use at Christmas. A very attractive and personalized greeting can be made by including photographs of your friends’ homes.

The ever-increasing influence press photography exerts over our daily thinking and our sources of information is emphatically demonstrated in this volume. Composed of illustrations and articles that cover all phases of the subject, this book points up the grave responsibility of today’s news cameraman—whether he reports the news through still or motion pictures.

EXCLUSIVE pictures are the goal of all press photographers. They mean recognition by fellow cameramen, and very often they result in cash bonuses at the end of the week. They are unusual even among the men who cover the news every day. But when an amateur photographer “scoops” the news boys with a box camera, it is a rare occasion indeed.

INFINITE patience was the quality found most necessary in shooting this cat sequence. These two felines, Billy and Smarty, always did fight furiously before they were fed, so I decided to get a photo story of their antics. I spent several days and many rolls of film to get the pictures, but have a nice picture record of my cats.

Conducted according to the recommended practices of Photographic Society of America. 34th Scottish Salon of Photography, Dundee and East of Scotland Photographic Society, Dundee, Angus, Scotland. On exhibit at Art Galleries, Dundee, Oct. 7 to 21.

PRIZE WINNING PRINTS from POPULAR PHOTOGRAPHY Contests comprise these Salons, and represent some of the finest examples of contemporary photography. The Salons are available to clubs, stores, libraries, and other organizations open to the general public.

SYNCHRONIZED QUICKLY with any flashgun, the Econo-Flash Speed Light unit is offered to photographers by the Harwood Mfg. Co., 2341 W. Wabansia Ave., Chicago 47, Ill. The new electronic flash unit weighs two and one-half pounds and is designed for a-c, d-c use.

WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC CORP. announces a Photoflash contest open to any person who derives less than half his income from the sale of his photographs. Contest closes Jan. 15, 1951, and entries are limited to black-and-white photographs made between Oct. 15 and Jan. 15.